Safety device for washing machines



April 29, 1930. R cu s 1,756,181

SAFETY DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed March 51, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet lApril 29, 1930. I A. R. CUTIS. 1,756,181

SAFETY DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed March s1 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2I dwmiz. m -5:; 'I I April 2 9, 1930. A. R. CURTIS SAFETY DEVICE FORWASHING MACHINES v Filed March 31, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 25 the lid fthe"cylinder is open;

Patented Apr; 29, 1930 ARTHUR It. CURTIS," on CLEVELAND, OHIO snnn rDEV-Ionian; A vnisnrne amen-Inns Applieation'ifiledJKarchfil; 1924.;Serial No. 703950.

This inventin relates to safety devices for power operated ashingmachines of the rotary cylinder type and has forits object topro'vldem'ea'ns for preventing operation of th'e'cylinder'at times whenparts thereof such as the lid are not properly positioned for operation,therebyavoiding injuries to the operator or to the mach'ine;,which mightotherwise occur-due to the starting of the driving mechanism withthefparts of the cylinder improperly p'ositio'nedi In washing machinesoffthe cylinder type injury to the cylinder "and the tubor to the Idriving mechanism have frequently been oc- "casi'oned" by starting theoperation of'the cylinder with the lid thereof open- 01'imperfectlysecured causing, the lid tobecOme jan'imed between thebodyof'the cylinder or the wall ofth'e-tub. I V v The presentinventionprovides a control for'the cylinder driving mechanismwhich' is ZOILinterposed between the driving mechanism andthe lidof acylinderandoperates to prevent'actuation of the cylinder at times whenNit-h :the aboveand' other ob various modifications of the deviceillustrat 7 ed in theacoompanying drawing, hereinafter eodescribed'andparticularly set forth in the appended claims, together with suchvariations and modifications thereofas will be ap-v parentto one skilledin the artto which the I invention appertains. p Referenceshould be hadto the ace'om'pany ing drawings forn inga part'of'this specifi cationinwhich Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top" plan view showing portions of thewashing cylinder and of -the tub in which it operates.

, together with the driving mechanism and controlling elements thereforinterposed b tween the driving mechanism andthe 11d of the cylinderfFig;2'is afragmentary sectional view showing the belt "shifter and .the

" automatically controlledlockingjdevice associated therewith inside'elevation; Fig. 3

is a sectional view'taken-a's indicated by line 3-3 in Fig. 7 2 lookingin the direction indi-' cated' by the arrow Fig; 4' is 'a' fragmentary:so sectionallview taken on 'an axial plane ects in View, the inventionmay be said to comprise the through the free edge portion of the lidwhich forms a part of the cylindrical wall of the cylinder and showingthe lid locking device and the controlling membermounted on" one head ofthe cylinder which is actuated by the lid locking device; Fig. 5. is aflag, men'tary" longitudinal section through the cylinder showing thelatch bars and the oper-' ating pinion therefor in elevation; .Fig. 6 isa fragmentary end elevation of the cylinder showing the actuating bar munted thereon; Fig! 7 isa top plan View o'fth'e clip for re lockingposition Figs. 8 and 9 show a'modi fied form of lidactn'at'ed'controlling element 'leasably" holding theb'olt'operatinghandle 'in' on the cylinder, Fig 8 being "a fragmentary 3section on line 8+8ofjFig. 9, anc'lF-igJj-i) being a section on line 99of F 8;' fFi'gJlOi isasection'al detail view showin'g a further-1'modification of the means for actnatingthe controlling element from thelid.

Referring to the accompanying drawing 1 F1gs.-1and Qshow an end wall oftlie'tiib 1 in which the" washer cylindeij is' nvented;- V the cylinder2 bein g 'mounted"in horizontai Ire" position for rotation in the tiibi'The'. cyl j inder 2 is provided with a lid"3whichfornis a portion of thecylindrical wall thfereofjan' d extends the full length of the cylinder;the

lid'3 being secured alon'g on'ejlongitudinal edge" "by a h nge 4 andbeing provided with looking bolts ,5 which engage with the" heads of thecylinderto'securethe lic in'clo'sedf entrant portion" '6' as shown in 6A drive sh aft "9 projects throngh one end w n of the tub and "carriesanenlarged'head 10] inside the tub which is provided fwithispace'dlugs'll which'engage in' apertures in th'ehead of" the: cylinder; thecentral f portion ofthe cylinder head supported on the drive shaftpresent invention, the present invention, however, being shown asapplied to a wash of the type disclosed in my co-pending applh cationSerial No. 633,970, filed April 23, 1923.

Supported upon the framework of the machine immediately outside the endwall of the tub 1 is a gear casing 13 through which the drive shaft 9extends. EVithin the gear casing 13 there may be an automatic reversingmechanism such as commonly employed in "washing machines of the cylindertype by" means of which the cylinder is given a preetermined number ofrevolutions in one dir ction and then reversed and given the same numberof revolutions in the opposite direc tion. The'washer drive mechanismpreferablyincludes a pair of worm gears 1 1 loosely mounted upon theshaft- 9 and continuously driven in opposite directions by gearing froma pulley 15 which is arranged horizontally and has a vertical shaftextending into the casinga'nd means maybe provided for alternatelyclutching the worm gears 14 to the shaftjto drive the cylinderalternatel in opposite directions. The specific reversing gear employedis per se immaterial in so far as the present invention is concerned andthe specific details thereof are not herein shown, the

driving mechanism herein shown, howev 1', being of the type disclosed inmy co-pending application Serial No. 633,969, filed Apr. 23, 1923. V

For stopping the cylinder with the lid at the top means are provided fordisconnecting the washer drive gearing from the motor, the worm gearingthrough which the cylinder is driven providing a lock for retaining thecylinder in the position in which it is stopped so that the cylinderv isrigidly held while the clothes are being inserted in or removed from thecylinder.

For connecting and disconnecting the motor I have provided a belttightening pulley 19 which is attached to an arm 20 of a bellcranklever, the other arm 21 of which forms an outwardly projectinghandle. In order to retain the tightener pulley 19 in belt tighteningposition and to hold it against vibra tion while in such position, thehandle 21 carries a cam portion 22 which is engaged by a spring pressedplunger 23, the plunger 23 acting upon the inclined surface of the camserving ,to exert a continuous inward pressure on the tightener pulley.In order to obtain quick and positive disengagement of the drivingconnection, means are provided in connection with the belt whereby thebelt is shifted and held out of engagement with the driving pulley uponmovement of the tightener pulley to releasing position; The releasingmeans consists of an arcuate guard 24. closely overlying the peripheryof'the pulley 15 and inclined belt retaining member 25 adjacent thedrive pulleys 17. Upon release of the belt by outward movement of thepulley 19, the portion 01": the belt pas ing around the pulley 17 isthrown outwardly and held in engagement with the retaining members 25'.The belt drive herein shown is fully described and claimed in mycopending application Serial No. 633,97 2, filed Apr. 23, 1923. It is tobe understood that the washing machine above described is il lustrative,merely, of the type of machine to which the present invention may beapplied and that the structural and mechanical do thereof may be variedgreatly in so as the present invention is concerned.

The present invention consists in an attachment adapted to be applied toa washing machine of the general character above described which willserve to prevent the starting of the cylinder until the lid thereof hasbeen properly positioned for operation and as herein shown consists of alocking device cdoperating with a member which controls the drivingmechanism, in this instance the belt tightener lever, the locking devicehaving operating connections extending to the lid of the cylinder whichso control the action of the locking device that the belt tightenerlever will be held against movement toward tighteningpos'ition until thegaged at its upper end by an arm 29 which t is arm 29 being securedthereto outside thecasing. The inner end of the rod 30 in one positionextends beyond the inner end of the shaft 9 andis pressed inwardly by aspring 31 connected to the arm 29 and to the casing 13. The rod 30 isurged by the spring 31 toward its innermost position in which its innorend projects into an aperture 32 at the center of the reentorcing plate12 and engages the head of the cylinder. When the rod 30 and arm 29 arein their innermost positions, the dog 27 is held in position forengagement with the abutment26 of the handle 21 but if the rod 30 andarm 29 be moved outwardly in opposition to the spring 31, the lowerendotthe dog 27 will be swung upwardly toclear the abutment 26 of the handle21 so that the movement of the belt tightener is not interfered with.

To enable the locking dog to be controlled from the lid, means areprovided on the cylinder for shifting the rod 39 outwardly to move thedog to inoperative position when the lid is closed and locked so thatoperation thereof isopened. An actuating bar 33 is slidably mounted uponthe head-of the cylinder and is so positioned thatits inner-end is atsubstantially the aXis o-f the cylinder, the inner'end 34 of the bar 33beingbent-in- Wardly into the aperture 32 ofthe plate 12 to provide aninclined end portion which is engageablewith the rounded inner end ofthe rod -to shiftthe rod in opposition to the spring 31; The actuatingbar 33 is slidably mounted in spaced clips 35 and 36 secured to theouterside of the cylinder head, the outer clipi36 forming a housing in whichis located a coil spring 37 connected tothe clip and to, the'bar 33 andacting to shift the bar'33 out wardly to aposition in which itsinn'er'end34 is outof engagement with therod 30. The outer end of thebar 33 is bent inwardly at an angle to provide aninclined face 38 adapted to be engaged by an inclined face 39 atthe end of one of the lockingbolts 5 when moved tollocking posit-ion through the apertures 40 in theheads of the cylinder. The bar33 is normally held by the spring, 37 in aposition in. which its upper end extends partially across the aperture40 so thatwhen the lock.-

ing bolt ispushed through the aperture, the

outer end of the bar is engaged by the inclined face39 of thebolt-forcingthe bar inwardly to a position in which the inner endthereof engages and holds therodBO in its outermost positiontherebyholding the dog 27 ln-lnoperatlve position. Duringthe inwardlnovement of the actuating bar 33, the lnchned 1111161" end 34 thereotengages the rounded inner end of the rojd 30 causing the rod 30 to rideup the inclined end 34.0nto the flat outer surface of theibar 33. Thuswhen .the lid of the cylinder is closed'and locked,

the belt tightener isreleased permitting opera-tive connection to-bemade betweenthe motor and the-cylinder tooperate the cylinder. Thespring '31 acts to press the rounded end of the rod 30 against the faceofthe tion of the dog-27 as shown herein is provided with a bearingsurface 27 which engageswith a raised edge portion 22? of the cam 22whenever the handle 21 is moved to belt tighteningposition causing thedog 27 to be shiftedslightly in a directlon to move the rod 30 outwardlyoutof contact with the bar 33 so that duringoperation of the cylinderthe rod 30 will be out of contact with the bar 33.

The locking blots 5 areextended androtractedby means of a pinion 41which engages racks formed on the innerends ofthe bars, the; pinion 41"bin ;fiX d-t0; a shaftwhich extends through the lid and hasa ha rdle 42attached thereto outside-the'lid." The: handle42 lies'parall'el with andcloselyj'adjacent the outersurfaceof the lid and means is providedforyieldingly holdingthe handle a position in which'the bolts areextended to locking position so that the bolts cannot move to releasingposition'during operation .otthe cylinder. dle 42 consists of a sheetmetal clip 43 which is arched transversely at its ends and is Theyielding retainer for the h ansecured to the lid beneaththe handle 42.

The, clip 42 extends lengthwise of the lid and is provided with a pairof integral tongues struck from the center thereof and lyingfla-tagainst the lid, the'tongues 44 being connected by rivets 45 to the lid.Beyond the ends of thejtongues 44 the arched ends of. the clip. areprovided with r longitudinally extending grooves 46 adapted to receivethe longitudinallydisposed edges of the handle 42 when the handle isturned to locking position-parallel with the free edge of the lid.Theclip be ing made of resilient sheet metal, the arched end portionswill springsufficientlyto per-f mit the ends of the handle to rideovertth'e ends'of the clip into-the grooves 46.

Various devices may; be employed P for i actuating the lockcontrolling'rod 301from the lid of the cylinder. In Figs. 8- and Q Ihave shown a modified form of attachment on the cylinder in which theactuating bar 33 which cooperates with therod 30 in the same manner asthe bar 33in the modification first described, is actuatedby means ofacam which is rigidly attached to one: of the end flanges 7' of the'lid3 adjacent the hinge 4. The cam is in the form of a sheet metal clip 47which lies closely adjacent and inside the ,v

head of the cylinder. "Theclip 47 is provided with acurved cam slot 48which-receives a pin 49 which is attachedtothe outer end of the. bar33andextends through a slot 50 inthe head of the cylinder. The camslot 48is so formedthat as the lid 3 is swung to open' position, the bar 33ismoved outwardly'out of'engagement with the rod 30 to permit'thelocking device to engage the handle-of the tightener. When the lid 3 ismoved to closed position the bar33 is shifted inwardly moving .therod 3Ooutwardly, and rendering the locking device inoperative.

In Fig. 10 ofthe drawing I haveshown a different niethodof actuatingtheactuating 3 3 bar on'the head of the cylinder from'the lid. In thismodification the upper end 51.-of-the actuating ,bar 33 is bentinwardly'and ext I -tends-through a slot 52 in the. head of thecylinder, the inturn ed end 51 being ina position tobc engaged by theend flange 7 of the lid 3 when the lid is moved to closed position.

For-moving the actuating bar 33 outwardly;

. when the lid is opened a coil spring 53-;is connectediat-itsinner endto a.lug.54pr'ojecting i outwardly from the bar 33 and at its outer endto the outwardly projecting flange of the cylinder head.

Having, described my invention, I claim: 1. In a mach ne or thecharacter described, the combination wltn a rotatably mounted container,of driving mechanism therefor, a

movable means for controlling said driving mechanism, and meansincluding a shiftable member on said container adapted to lock saidmovable means to prevent actuation of said container by said drivingmechanism.

2. In a machine of the character described, the comblnation with arotatably mounted container, of driving mechanism therefor,-

adapted to actuate said locking means.

4:. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with arotatably mounted container, of dr ving mechanismtherefor, manuallyoperable means for controlling the 1 driving mechanismto start and stop the rotation of said container, and a shiftable memheron said container controlling the operation of said means forstartingthe rotation of said container.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with arotatably mounted container having a lid thereon, of mechanism includingworm gearing for rotating the container and means interposed between thelid of the container and the driving mechanism to prevent actuation ofthe worm gearing when the lid is open. 1 I

6. In a machine of the character described, thecombination with arotatably mounted container havinga lid thereon, oi' mechanism forrotating the container including driving elements adapted to bedisconnected to stop the container, means for shifting one of saiddriving elements out of engagement with the other, and means interposedbetween the lid of the container and one of the said driving elements tolock said driving element indisengaged position when the lid is open.

7. In a machine of the characterdescribed,

the combination with a rotatably mountedcontainer havinga lid thereon,of driving mechanism for rotatingthe container, a man'- ually operablecontroller for the driving mechanism by means of which the rotation ofthe container may be started or stopped and of the controlling elementon the container being controlled by the lid and the controlling elementon the support being operable manually to connect and disconnect saiddriving mechanism and container, and means operated by the controllingelement on the container for locking the controlling element on thesupport. V

9. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposedrotatable cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall anda lidfor the opening adapted to be secured thereto to close the opening, ofmechanism for, rotating the cylinder, a manually operable controller forsaid mechanism, and means interposed between the controller and lid forlocking the controller when the lid is open.

10. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposedrotatable cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall and aclosure member adapted to be secured thereto to closethe opening, ofmechanism for rotating said cylinder alternately in opposite directions,means for starting and stopping said mechanism, and means interposedbetween said starting and stopping means and said lid to lock saidstarting means when the lid is open.

11. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposedrotatably mounted cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall, alid for said opening, means for locking said lid in closed position,mechanism for rotating said cylinder, and means interposed between saidlocking means and mechanism for preventing operation thereof when thelid is unlocked.

12. In a washing machine, the combination with a rotatably mountedhorizontally disposed cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical walland a lid having a lock for securing it to the cylinder to close theopening, of mechanism for rotating the cylinder, a manually operablecontroller for said mechanism, locking means for said controller, andmeans operated'by the lid lock for cont-rolling the controller lock.

13. In a washing machine, the combination with a rotatably mountedhorizontally disposed cylinder having an opening in its 7 mechanism bymeans of which operation of the cylinder may be controlled, arestraining device for said controller,and a cam carried by said lid andadapted to actuate said restraining device.

14;; In a machine of the class described, the combination with a supporthaving a container rotatably mounted thereon, of driving mechanism forthe container, and means for controlling the operation of the drivingmech V anism comprising. a controlling element-on the support and ashiftable member on the container adapted to actuate the controllingelement, and means for maintaining the shiftable member and controllingelement out of contact during rotation of the container by the drivingmechanism.

15. In a machine of the character described, a rotatablyrmountedcontainer havingan opening and a lid for closing said opening, means forlocking the lid in closed position, mechanismY-for rotating saidcontainer, and means interposedbetween said signature.

locking meansjand said mechanism for preventing rotation ofthe'container by said mechanism when the lid is unlocked.

In testimony whereof, I hereuntoaflix my ARTHUR 7R. CURTIS,

